The Matthew Davidson Band - appearing at Superior Grill on Sun, Dec 28 - will rock the house if you show them a bit of response. I remember the day at Caddo Magnet HS when the group in the photo above broke into a version of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" at a rally in the gym. The teens watching them were seized with dance mania. Students in the bleachers rose with giant smiles and threw their hands into the air. In a few moments the most impassioned dancers were filling the floor of the gym. Jumping, shaking students were everywhere.

Though they're still teens, the players in the Matthew Davidson band are journeyman musicians with an entertainment ethic to admire. Matthew recently opened for pop sensation Austin Mahone in Baton Rouge. He recently performed at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, at the Natchitoches Xmas Fest and numerous other fests. Nationally respected, he appears in ads for Fender guitars.

Davidson is one of Shreveport's most talented teens. See him. And don't ignore the well-crafted original tunes on his CD's.

Ray Bartlett moved to Shreveport in 1947 to work for KWKH. At the radio
station, he performed a variety of jobs. This included serving as a
morning announcer, disc jockey, and emcee on the newly established
Louisiana Hayride. Perhaps Bartlett’s most celebrated role, though,
involved his jive-talking “Groovie Boy” persona who spun rhythm and
blues records on the radio show “Groovie’s Boogie.”

The Lightnin Bugs would never proclaim themselves a hippie band. They're too down home for such airs and labels. But Tim Brogan, Bruce Gay and Randy Guynes are quintessential free spirits. They make music to animate the community's feet and heart. For years they've been unselfconsciously devoting themselves to the countercultural way of life, the pursuit of the folk artistic ethic.

That low-key, artistic vibe has sold out their Shreveport House Concerts show at 1508 Fairfield on Sun, Dec 28, 7 - 9 pm. Said Alan Dyson, "We've got 119 reservations. And we have 120 seats."

A salsa version of "If I Only had a Brain," is typical of their covers. "We do a swamp style "Your cheatin' heart," added Bruce Gay. "We do a reggae version of Randy Newman's 'Louisiana,' too, but nothing we do is really a cover. And 70% of what we play we wrote ourselves."

Joining the trio on keyboard will be Michael Raspberry. There will certainly be additional musicians sitting in at random moments.

There will be a hat on a mic stand, stage right, indicating the loss of long-time trombone player Dunny Gilyard. He passed away this past year. "He was a soulful, deep-hearted player who knew exactly what to play and where to put the horn in a tune," said Gay. "Dunny was self-effacing and low key but he brought depth, heart and richness to the Bugs. We miss him."

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

"The Robinson Film Center is proud to open “The Interview” on Christmas Day for a weeklong run," says Alex Kent. After initially cancelling, Sony has decided to release the film to select theaters around the country.

“As an art house committed to free expression, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to support Sony, ‘The Interview,’ moviegoers and theaters around the country,” said RFC executive director Kent. “Satire is an important art form, and this film deserves a home in our theaters. We hope audiences will support this run enthusiastically.”

The announcement comes after Monday’s move by the Art House Convergence, a network of independent and art house exhibitors around the country, petitioned Sony to show its support for “The Interview.” Kent will attend the Art House Convergence’s annual conference in Utah in January.

“The Convergence is an indispensable voice in film exhibition,” Kent said. “We’re thrilled by its passion for cinema and excited to see how audiences respond.”

Says Elise Hu at NPR.org, "A buddy flick about killing North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un will be shown on Christmas Day after all, at least in about 200 independent theaters. This kind of small-scale distribution model and the politics surrounding The Interview give what was once a big-budget Hollywood release the spirit of an art house film."

The show at Strange Brew on Fri, Dec 26, will be a night for musical anthropologists, since telling these two bands apart on their recordings is not easy. Fans can tell them apart. Otherwise, you'd have to ask how in the hell did Louisiana germinate two top pop bands that sound like the musicians were born in recording studio nurseries?

Regardless of the swimmy similarities be aware that the well-honed pop power of these groups is equally redoubtable. Both bands want you to take you to danstasy. To fill your ears and bubbly brain with slightly tangy chocolate.

Friday, December 19, 2014

A tsunami of modern art awaits at 710 Travis St, downtown Shreveport. Behind the freshly painted, bright green railing of the building - the former YWCA - opening ceremonies will celebrate the Marlene Yu Art Museum and the Rainforest Art Foundation.

Those attending the reception on Sun, Dec 21, 1 to 4 pm, will see more than the giant, buoyant canvasses painted by Marlene or the galleries freshly filled with verdant work by regional artists. At the center of this vortex of renovation and art display is a trio of Shreveport newcomers whose energy is visible in the building, the art and the event.

They are James Yu, NYC property developer and art gallerist, Marlene Yu, artist, and their daughter, Stephanie Yu Lusk, developer and curator.

Part of a renaissance of downtown refurbishment, the Yu-refreshed building is a block away from Lofts@624, the Texas St retail and apartment development being produced by New Orleans-based developer Roland Von Kurtanowski. It is a block from Artspace, Where Pam Atchison continues to transform another historic Texas St building. It is only a few blocks from Big D's BBQ performing venue and from Millennium Studios.

While James and Marlene Yu embody a very approachable serenity, it is Stephanie Yu Lusk who is the pumping fountain of get-it-done. She is busily dressing Shreveport in a fresh coat, hat and cape of green.

They are not to be taken for granted; it is time for Shreveport to meet the entire Yu family.

Robinson Film Center is working to raise $94,587 between now and the end of 2014, says Alex Kent.

"The business of movies has changed over the last several years with the advent of Redbox machines, movies on demand and 70-inch home screens," notes Kent. "Robinson Film Center is working to be that place that people gather for movies they can’t see anywhere else, for events such as the popular Book Lovers’ Supper Club and Heels & Reels and for great dining at Abby Singer’s Bistro."

“It takes support from a big community to make RFC thrive,” says Kent. “Every donation, sponsorship, membership, and movie ticket purchased helps out.”

The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation (DSDC) will challenge others who love downtown, great cinema and Robinson Film Center in a gathering on Tues, Dec 16 at 5:30 pm on the second floor of RFC, 617 Texas Street, says Liz Swaine.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Sex Workers Outreach Project organizers are planning a Shreveport vigil to raise awareness about the violence faced by sex workers, says Loftin Wilson. The vigil will begin at 7pm at the Caddo Parish Courthouse, 501 Texas St.

"Criminalizing sex work has not worked,” commented Lindsay Roth of the Outreach. “We know that criminalization leads to more violence by stigmatizing sex workers and contributing to unsafe working conditions. If you fear arrest, negotiating your personal safety becomes a secondary concern.” Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) -USA promotes decriminalizing sex work, or ending criminal penalties for the selling or purchasing of sex, says Roth.

"We hope that December 17, the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, sends a message that sex workers' lives do matter, and that victims of violence were people worth remembering and protecting."

Sunday, December 14, 2014

In a major NY Times obituary, Shreveport-raised foreign service man Robert B. Oakley was celebrated for success in difficult negotiations.

"Robert B. Oakley, a blunt-spoken career diplomat who was known for successfully handling some of the world’s prickliest situations, including the capture of an American pilot by Somali militiamen in 1993 in what became known as the “Black Hawk Down” crisis, died on Wednesday," wrote Douglas Martin.

He grew up in Shreveport and attended Southfield School. His mother, Josephine "Jody" B. Oakley, "was a founder of one of the first all-female realty firms in Shreveport," said Talbot Hopkins. "Her company was Oakley Wise and Talbot."

Monday, December 08, 2014

Shorts by local film makers will begin at 7:30 pm, says Garrett Johnson of the Heliopolis event Xmas at da Shop. A continuation of the minicine event Xmas under the Ground, there will be music by Brittany Maddox, Engine, Don't Forget Your Dinosaur and Soul Society.

Omen Art will unveil an installation and individual artists will also show work.

Thursday, December 04, 2014

A lunatic actor (Michael Keaton, subtly hilarious), once a winged superhero, is the eponymous Birdman. He is staging a comeback in a midtown Manhattan theater in a serious if maladroit play. Thereupon his ego, his family, his career and the actor himself come to raving, hysterical apotheosis. A perfectly insouciant Emma Stone, head-whipping Ed Norton and manic Zach Galifianakis make the film a rave.

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

"The best young pianists from 12 countries and 14 states fly to Shreveport for the 64th Wideman International Piano Competition," says Lester Senter Wilson.

"We are expecting contestants from such schools as Boston University, Cleveland Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Royal College of Music (London), Royal Conservatory (Montreal), and Yale to name a few," added Wilson.

Preliminary performances in Anderson Auditorium are free and open to the public. The final competition, Sun, Dec 7, is free for students and $10 per person for the public. More info.